


The Art Of Folding Laundry

by stardustmillenium



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes & You - Freeform, Bucky Barnes - Freeform, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Fluff, Bucky Barnes is sweet, Bucky barnes x reader - Freeform, Bucky is a dad, Bucky is falling in love, Bucky loves laundry, F/M, Fluff, SingleDad!Bucky, Soft Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, bucky barnes and his daughters, bucky is falling in love with you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:48:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26853238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustmillenium/pseuds/stardustmillenium
Summary: A moment of silence is all Bucky needs.
Kudos: 6





	The Art Of Folding Laundry

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is part of my singledad!Bucky series.

Slivers of light are starting to peek through the wooden blinds in the family room, he knows he only has another hour or so before the girls wake up. They’ll poke their heads in, bleary eyed and asking him to make a special breakfast; most likely an omelet or waffles with fresh berries. 

He takes a deep breath in and enjoys the silence. The few memories of quiet days rotating around his head, usually when the girls sleep or if they spend a night at a friend's house. Memories of life before fatherhood pop up from time to time. The battles, the carnage, the loneliness. 

He doesn’t belong to that world anymore. 

He’s part of a world that once had dirty diapers and burp cloths and now his world is full of hair braiding and unicorns. 

And everything is calm during these wee hours of the morning. 

The calmness, the eerie stillness around him before he would fire off a shot from his rifle. This, this was the calm that spread over him now, as he reached over to pull another towel into his hands. Corner to corner, fold, corners again, fold, and they better match up perfectly. 

Add it to the pile. 

Repeat. 

Bucky found great comfort in folding the laundry. 

Pick up another towel from the basket. Fold. Repeat. He often felt that it was therapeutic; his brain stopped running in circles, his thoughts generally focusing around the girls. 

His girls. 

He has a hard time remembering what life was like before them. They consume his thoughts most days. Every leaf that falls, every laugh he hears – he thinks of his girls. 

Maybe he’s getting softer with each year that passes. There are no longer missions for him to go on; he gave that up long ago, when fatherhood became his number one job. 

Piper came first; silently she fell into this world (and his arms) 8 years ago. He cut the cord and she was handed over to him first, her tiny eyes looked up and he swore that she knew he was her dad. Bucky had never felt love like that before and if anything, it got stronger as each day passed. 

He pleaded for a second child and 15 months later, Riley was born. Oh, and did she come into this world screaming; red faced and hands in fists, punching at the cold air. Every day for the last 6 years has been an adventure with his younger daughter. She was the fire he needed, the motivation; his strength to keep going each day and to not give up. 

He was forever in debt to his daughters for making him a better person. 

And then there was you. 

He couldn’t put a name to it yet, whatever it was that was going on. 

Friend, confidant, oh he wishes he could up the ante. Lady friend, sweetheart, lover. He shouldn’t get so far ahead; his fantasies were pulling him deeper. He hadn’t even... 

“OOF!” 

The sudden shout and then feeling of sinking yanked him out of his dream-like state. He heard her giggles before he saw her limbs flailing from the centre of the laundry pile beside him on the couch. 

“Daddy you had the goofiest look on your face and you were bitin’ at your lip and you didn’t even hear me do my sneak attack. I must be getting really good at the super spy stuff!” Riley laughed, pushing the wash cloths and towels to the floor. 

Bucky tries to make a serious dad face at Riley but the washcloth resting on her strawberry blonde curls has his smiling ear to ear. “You goof,” he laughs, swiping the blue cloth off of her head. 

“But I am the best super spy, right Pops? Better than Pip, right?” She crawls out of the pile and into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

“Yes, my sweet girl, even better than Pips. BUT she rules when it comes to listening to other people’s... CONVERSATIONS!” Bucky reaches his left arm behind the couch and scoops up his oldest daughter, who is so full of laughter than her face is turning red and tears and almost springing from her bright blue eyes. 

“POPPPPPPS!! PUT. ME. DOWN!” 

He knows this is the end of his alone time but it is also the beginning of a new day with his daughters –and nothing will ever top that. 

He does wonder about you though. What are you doing this morning? Are you sleeping still? Maybe you are thinking about him as well. He watches Piper and Riley scamper off into the kitchen and hears the clank of the bowls and utensils that girls are taking out of the drawers. Once they are out of sight, he picks his phone up from the side table and opens up his messages. Last message, two days ago – he had wished you good luck before you went for your review at work. He should send you a quick text, see how things went. Maybe you wanted to come over for breakfast. He tapped a short message and sent it off, leaving it open for her to pop by anytime this morning. 

Maybe she would fold laundry with him between giggles and quick kisses while the girls ran around in the back yard. 

Maybe the girls could go by their friend's house and he could forget about the laundry and kiss you longer and brush the hair back from your face. You would shy away and hide behind it but he would want to see the way your eyes sparkled before and after his lips were on yours. 

“Pops, can we have waffles? The yummy chocolate ones you make, please?” Riley asks pushing her face right into his. 

“Yes, yes. How about you pull out the mix and set everything up on the counter, ok?” 

“Sure thing,” she says, smiling wide, clearly happy that she can help Bucky and have her breakfast of choice. 

The girls are silent as they scoop berries and whip cream into their mouths; their waffles have long been devoured (he has left two for you in the oven, he knows you how much you love them). There’s a quick tapping at the front door and it opens slowly, your voice shouting “Barnes family, I have come to eat all of your waffles! Where are you hiding them?” 

Riley stands up on her chair shouting “In the oven! THE OVEN!” 

“Oh Barnsey, trying to keep me away from my sweet waffles. I see how it is.” She walks towards where Bucky is sitting at the table and reaches out, tickling the back of neck and giggling. 

He pretends to be annoyed and tries to brush her hands off of his neck but she is determined to make him squeal, maybe even scream. Standing up from his chair, her hands still trying to tickle him, he turns quickly and pretends he is going to lunge at her. His girls are quick though and wrap themselves around him, Riley has managed to cling to his right leg, while Piper is pulling his left arm and telling him she is stronger than his fancy arm. Their giggling is contagious and he can’t help but join in. Once their laughter seizes, he unwraps his youngest from him leg and sends them off to get washed and dressed for the day. They both hug y/n and set off upstairs to get changed. 

She moves to the oven and reaches in with her bare hand to retrieve a waffle, instantly taking a bit of the warm square. “Oh, these are extra good today, did you put extra love in it for me,” she says winking at him and hopping down the steps to the family room. She takes one look at the laundry on the couch and floor and raises her left eyebrow. “Well Barnes, you sure know how to rile a girl up,” she says poking at the laundry on the couch. “Are these the kind of dates you have planned for me?” 

Bucky just stares and keeps staring until he starts feeling a bit uncomfortable and he knows that you can tell because a smile is slowly forming on your lips. She moves forward and before he knows what you are doing (he would have been a horrible super soldier around you) you’ve tackled him down on the couch. He smirks and thinks that, this is where he wanted you in the first place and now that he has you here, what is he going to do with you. A week has passed since you had kissed, while lying in the backyard, staring at the clouds together. He’s pulled out of his thoughts when you shift above him, straddling him and staring back into his eyes. 

“Well Barnes, do I get to kiss you now?” Her left eyebrow has lifted as the she speaks; he loves how she looks at the very moment and nods his head in response. “Good. A week was too long not being able to be this close to you.” 

Oh, and does he ever want to be closer than this with you. 

She leans down, her hair tickling his face right before their lips are touching, Bucky’s flesh hand moves to her side rubbing it softly and shifting her dress around. “Better not lift that too high Barnsey, you don’t want your girls to see anything.” 

“That’s not, that’s not what I was tryin’ to...” 

“I’m just trying to work you up, you goof. I know you wouldn’t even fathom doing something like that.” She leans runs a hand through his hair and leans down into another kiss. 

He hears their feet, elephant like, bounding down the stairs and quickly shifts y/n off into the laundry pile that still remains on his couch. “Is this your way of telling me that you want me to finish folding your laundry? You could have just asked instead of throwing me into it,” she jokes. 

Bucky chuckles at her smart-ass response and turns to catch Riley as she is about to wrap her arms around his neck. 

“Ha! Not this time, sweet pea! I heard you thumping down the stairs like a wild animal!” He pulls his youngest into a big bear hug and kisses the top of her head. “Go get your shoes on and we’ll meet you in the backyard, ok?” He watches Riley run off to grab Piper and their shoes a nd when he turns back around to give y/n a quick kiss she whispers in his ear, 

“So, what’s our next date? Are you going to teach me how to fluff the pillows on your bed?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Come say hi on Tumblr [redhairedfeistynerd](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/redhairedfeistynerd)
> 
> *please do not copy my work anywhere other media without my permission.*


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